By Jordanna Schriever, ABC
Photo: 123RF
A mother who faked her six-year-old son’s cancer diagnosis to raise thousands of dollars has been jailed for more than four years for the “cruel, calculated” and “manipulative” crime.
The 45-year-old woman, from Adelaide’s western suburbs, previously pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in acts likely to cause harm and 10 counts of deception, after she shaved and bandaged her son’s head so it appeared he had eye cancer.
In sentencing, District Court Judge Geraldine Davison said that while the woman had sought to blame her offending on financial troubles, her crimes were a sophisticated “attention-seeking device”.
She jailed the mother for four years and three months and set a non-parole period of two years and four months, making her eligible to apply for parole in April 2027.
Outside court, the woman’s husband said no sentence could justify what she had done.
-ABC